Crimson
by Mangahero18
Summary: Here's a Naruto who CAN hate Sasuke for almost freaking killing him, a Naruto who CAN use the Kyuubi's power instead of just spamming clones, and a Naruto who actually gets treated like the main protagonist should. M lots of cursing. Fixed grammar.
1. Hope

I don't own Naruto…if I did Sasuke would be Naruto's duck-butt Lackey and Sakura would be mute….

"Speech/Speech/SPEECH"

'Thought'

(PoV Change)

This fan fictions' Naruto will be a good bit ooc and because I feel in canon Naruto does not come out on top enough I'm going to be working towards that angle…he will be Super but ill build him up so he wont be instantly invincible…the first few chapters will follow the manga close enough so it wont be AU but I may diverge at some point.

* * *

The people of the Konohagakure no Sato was thrown into a panic as the presence of an overwhelming rage and bloodlust settled over the village. Most who weren't privy to this feeling before wouldn't understand much about it other than a powerful instinct to flee overtook their senses. Now you may ask what on Earth could produce such an horrifying affect as to send the entire population of a village of several thousand into a fear born frenzy…it was the Chakra of strongest of the Bijuu, the massive Kyuubi no Yoko; the nine tailed fox.

The defenders of Konoha: the Leaf Shinobi, upon seeing the colossal kitsune bearing down upon them took up arms and proceeded to try and stop the monstrosity before it reached the village. The leaf ninja struck at the beast with everything they had, raining kunai and shuriken and turning the very elements themselves against it but nothing seemed to do any discernable damage…their only hope lay in the Hokage, leader of the village, to come up with a plan to stop the seemingly invincible juggernaught.

(With the Hokage)

"Is there no other way my friend, must you really condemn your only child to such a fate? What of the boys mother who died in childbirth…if you go through with this plan of yours the boy will be all alone" The person speaking was an aged gentlemen, thought he appeared fragile his eyes portrayed a presence of infallible will. This man was the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the person he was addressing was his successor Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage. "I'm afraid so ji-san, I couldn't just ask someone to give up their child to be a sacrifice to seal Kyuubi….he may be young but I'm confident little Naruto here will be a true hero to the Leaf Village." he took a long look at the bundled child in his arms…even thought the child was only a few hours old he already greatly resembled Minato himself.

"I'm off Ji-san…I know the villagers will probably fear him, and maybe even despise him….but if I could ask a favor of you…make sure he's seen as the hero he truly is Oji-san." With that said…the Yondaime and his son vanished in a flash of yellow light.

(With the Kyuubi)

To say the massive nine-tailed Bijuu was a little upset would be like saying the ocean is kind of big…a huge understatement, no the Kyuubi was beyond upset…he was PISSED!

First had been those accursed eyes waking him from his 50 year rest and warping his mind with those illusions, filling his mind with rage. When he had no means to end his torment the Kyuubi had set his sights upon a village closest to his den…Konohagakure, no doubt his rampage had been the intention of his attacker all along. Then as if that hadn't been bad enough that accursed _ningen_ had arrived on a giant toad of all things and proceeded to use one of those _jutsu _they tended to be so fond of to summon the Shinigami! Who then proceeded to relieve his own essence, his _soul_, from him and sealed it into a human infant! As the massive Yoko probed the confines of his new prison he discover that the seal holding him back while appearing incredibly strong at first actually appeared to be missing some components…had the human made a mistake? The Kyuubi prepared to bombard the deceptively weak seal with his chakra he had an epiphany, this might actually work to his advantage…as long as he was behind this seal…his essence trapped within this human, _those eyes__ couldn't reach him!_ The fox let out a loud and intimidating chuckle which soon descended into insane laughter.

"**It seems you've given me the means with which to finally be free…Madara!!"**

(12 years later)

The occupants of Konoha's ninja academy class suddenly ceased their chatter as the door to the classroom burst open revealing an young man with hair drawn into a tight ponytail with a scar running across the bridge of his nose dragging a hog tied youth with blond spiky hair who was squinting so hard his eyes appeared to be closed. "Naruto, tomorrow is the shin obi academy's graduation exam and you've failed it the last two times! Now is not the time to be causing trouble! You idiot!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at the dolphin haired teacher "Whatever!" the older man's face grew bright red with anger "Everyone line up for a surprise _Henge no Jutsu_ test!" the class let out a collective groan and most turned to glare at the petulant blonde.

As it got closer to Naruto's attempt the students behind him stated that it was his fault they were in this mess….he of course couldn't care less. "Okay next up is Naruto"

Naruto brought his hands up to a hand seal and began focusing his chakra. "_Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)_" As the the smoke from the technique cleared it revealed a _very_ under clothed female version of Naruto and upon seeing the bare female flesh Iruka shot backwards from a geyser of blood from his nostrils. "Heh, I call that my Oiroke no Jutsu!(Ninja Centerfold Technique) " This of course followed Iruka reprimanding Naruto for the millionth time.

(At Hokage Monument)

"I'm not letting you go till you clean off all the paint you hear me Naruto?!" The boy looked up from the scaffolding hanging in front of the monument and stared at Iruka with his perpetually closed eyelids. "Like I care, s'not like I got anyone to go home too!" Iruka frowned his young charge 'Naruto….' the young teacher offered to take him to eat ramen afterwards which managed to motivate Naruto.

(Ichiraku Ramen)

"Naruto why were you defacing the monument…don't you know what the title of Hokage means?"

The boy looked up from his bowl for a moment and adopted an expression of thought "Well Hokage is the title give to the leader of the village right? Also, the past Hokage were all recognized for doing heroic things that really made them out as powerful and well know shin obi…especially the Yondaime." Iruka looked down at his student with no small amount of pride 'Seems he was paying attention after all' "So why would you do that?" The boy got quiet all of the sudden, he seemed to be barely concealing a large amount of emotions ranging from sadness, confusion, and…anger? 'Must be my imagination' "Well you better rest up for the exam tomorrow unless you want to fail a third time"

(Next morning at the Academy)

"I'm sorry Naruto but you fail again" Naruto looked downcast at Iruka's declaration, the sickly malformed clone beside him dispelling with a pop. "Aw c'mon Iruka this is his third time at this test and he DID make a clone…why not just pass him?" Mizuki, Iruka's teaching assistant interjected at which Naruto got a hopeful look on his face but soon became despair as Iruka denied its usefulness in the field.

After all the other students parents came to pick them up and congratulate the ones who passed, Mizuki came up to Naruto and explained that Iruka's parents where killed when he was very young and that he sees a lot of himself in the blond haired boy, thus his reason for being so hard on him. "Y'know Naruto…there is another way you can pass…its sort of like a make up exam" the boy beamed at this.

(With Naruto in forest outside Village)

As the village was in an uproar over Naruto's theft of the Forbidden Scroll, said boy was hard at work in memorizing the scroll and the techniques therein. "I found you Naruto!"

The blond boy looked up from his spot on the forest floor at his out of breath teacher. "Just in time Iruka-sensei, let me show you the skill I learned from the scroll so I can pass the makeup test." The color drained from Iruka's face at the boys question "Who told you that Naruto?" he replied "Mizuki-sensei of course." Iruka dived forward to protect his student from an oversized shuriken that flew from somewhere within the trees and struck him in the back.

In the following scrap between the three, Mizuki revealed to Naruto why everyone in the village hated him and the law concerning it…he told him he was in fact the _Kyuubi no Yoko!_ The traitorous Mizuki laughed at the scarred chunin's plight "How can you protect the monster who killed your parents Iruka?! You should hate him!" the scar faced teen adopted a solemn face "You're right….I do hate the Kyuubi…" 'So he hates me like everyone else….' Naruto thought. "But Naruto is not the Kyuubi! He's one of my precious students!" As Mizuki was about to strike down Iruka Naruto burst from the forest canopy and surprised the traitor with a kick to the teeth and proceeded to attempt the Kage Bushin no Jutsu….only to have it fail miserably. "Why you little demon I'm going to get you for that!" Naruto took off into the forest with Mizuki in hot pursuit. As Naruto entered a clearing Mizuki managed to overtake the blond boy…backing him into a corner. 'Is this the end?! I'm really going to die here like a weakling?! No….No!! I don't want to die!' A look of pure glee in the man's eye he prepared to bring down his weapon and cleave the child in twain…. **'Naruto…I have finished' **with those three simple words the boy's entire expression change from one of fearful reproach to a maniacal grin matching Mizuki's own. Noticing the change in the boys demeanor he asked "What's so funny demon?!" A huge torrent of dark blue chakra erupted from the child knocking Mizuki off his feet. As the traitor leveled his gaze at the slowly rising boy he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and began to sweat profusely as the torrent of _chakra_ changed from blue to a red-orange and a familiar feeling of irrational fear began to overtake his senses. Naruto's hair lengthens and his nails and canines extend into nasty looking claws and fangs, he slowly brings his gaze up to match Mizuki's own; his eyes are blood red and his pupils slit. _**"You were right about one thing Mizuki-teme. I may not be the Kyuubi, but that doesn't mean I'm not a demon! **_Naruto's hand shot forward so fast that Mizuki had not the time to blink as the boy's clawed hand pierced straight through his gut and out his back.

(With Sandaime)

Sarutobi, having watched the proceedings from his crystal ball, could barely believe his eyes as Naruto adopted some of the _Kyuubi's _more prominent features and literally turned the traitor Mizuki inside out in a savage display of brute strength. 'Is the Kyuubi breaking free?!' a shudder went down the aged Shinobi's spine as his next few seconds were filled with fearful thoughts of the havoc that should befall the village should the beast escape before turning back to his crystal ball…..

(With Iruka)

As his student came upon the clearing in which he lie Iruka released the breath he had been holding upon seeing Naruto unharmed and the lack of an 50 story blood red Kitsune staring down upon him. "Naruto what happened? Are you okay and is that BLOOD YOUR COVERED IN?!" the boy winced at his teachers shrill and fearful voice "Its not my blood Iruka-sensei its Mizuki-teme's….I used the Kage Bunshin and beat him up" although something didn't seem to add up Iruka was just glad his sometimes little brother figure was safe. "Naruto close your eyes for a sec" his student complied warily which was understandable with what he went through and upon opening his eyes and noticing the leaf symbol upon his forehead was ecstatic.

(With Naruto)

After Naruto had finished his celebrating ANBU had shown up and taken Iruka to the hospital and escorted him and the Forbidden Scroll to the Hokage Tower. **'Don't you think you might have over done it a little with Mizuki…although it was a highly entertaining end for the worm it might cast you in a bad light and stir up some of your old enemies on the Council'** Naruto grinned inwardly at the massive kitsune 'Yea but I just got my chakra under control and wanted show off a little, besides I'm sick of playing the fool…I was thinking from now on I'd show my _true_ self y'know….no more mask.'

The fox regarded his kit's over eagerness with a small amount of humor **'That's all well and good but don't go and dig a hole you can't get yourself out of. Just because you can use my chakra doesn't mean your'e invincible…' **Naruto scoffed at this 'Yea I know Tou-san, I'm not as stupid everyone thinks…as you well know.' _Kyuubi_ grunted in agreement and settled back into sleep in its cage. When the ANBU came to stop outside the Hokage's office the wizened leader called for Naruto to enter. As the boy sat down in front of Sarutobi he seemed to regard him with an expression of deep thought…as thought he couldn't make up his mind about him. "Naruto…how are you feeling, I understand you had to take Mizuki's life in order to protect Iruka and prevent him from escaping with the scroll…would you like to talk about it?" Naruto stiffened before slumping and lowering his gaze at his feet. "I-I don't know Oji-san…I know I should feel bad about k-killing him but….I cant help but feel he got what he deserved y'know?"

It wasn't too unexpected of a reaction….and the boy didn't appear to be controlled by the monster fox… "It's quite all right Naruto…as hard as we as Shinobi try to kill our emotions…we're still human at the end of the day. After what Mizuki did it's perfectly reasonable to feel hatred towards him and seek justification in his death…as long as you do not let your hatred control you…you'll be just fine." A look of immense relief passed over the young boy's face. "Arigato…Oji-san" Naruto stood up and left the Hokage's office with a tired expression…all the excitement no doubt taking its toll on the boy.

As Naruto left Sarutobi sighed and relit his pipe, hoping that against everything…the child would not become the monster that everyone made him out to be.


	2. Brain Dead Scarecrow

**I don't own Naruto…if I did Sasuke would be Naruto's duck-butt Lackey and Sakura would be mute….**

**Reviews with suggestions, praise, or helpful criticism are always welcome but flames will be ignored.**

"**Speech/**_**Speech**_/Speech"

'Thought'

(PoV Change)

* * *

Never let it be said that Uzumaki Naruto isn't the patient or understanding sort. Sure in the past he may have come off as somewhat of a knucklehead, but people _can_ change…or in Naruto's case just reveal his true self. Since Shinobi are all about deception one would question the point in him having such a drastic turn around when it very may well have better benefited him to just lead everyone's opinions of him like he always had…its not quite so complicated really…he was bored of course. Sure, pranking those who annoyed him had always suited to provide an certain amount of entertainment…but upon coming to the academy for his team assignment to find that he was paired with a broody, selfish, and self-important asshole with an duck butt hairstyle and his fan girl/stalker/largest attraction of his realized ignorance of her affection in an attempt to constantly boost his already massive ego i.e. punching bag…..it goes with out saying keeping up his 'happy go lucky' façade around his_ teammates _would be nigh impossible. And thus we observe Uzumaki himself…his outer appearance hadn't changed much at all…same goofy smile with those half closed eyes that mad it difficult to tell if he was awake or not. Same spiky blond hair, the only difference there is he chose to let his bangs hang in front of his face without his goggles….his headband was hanging from his neck. The biggest change was in his neon orange jumpsuit…it was almost exactly like the one he had always worn before except the color scheme, instead of orange and blue now was light yet intense shade of red ,crimson sounds pretty close, and black. Although Naruto's teammates would never admit it his simple change in wardrobe actually made their teammate a good bit more intimidating…although they had no idea _why._

As Hatake Kakashi entered the classroom he was assigned to meet his charges the ex-ANBU captains finely trained reflexes kicked in allowing him to dodge an incoming kunai on almost pure instinct, it embedded itself in the wall with a thunk behind him.

"While those reflexes of yours are somewhat impressive Naruto it's generally frowned upon to attack comrades with kunai outside of combat practice…although I _suppose_ I could have been an enemy in disguise so I won't fault you on it." Kakashi eye smiled at his student until he noticed said student had a creepy smile on his face and pointed at the wall behind him…the kunai from earlier had a long strip of paper that appeared to be burning like a fuse-OH SHIT! "HIT THE DECK!" the scarecrow dived forward for cover as the 'fuse' reached the end of the paper…only to fizzle out. Naruto was laughing at Kakashi like he was the funniest thing in the world. Annoyed at his students childish and, admittedly, clever prank he motioned for his students to meet him on the roof.

(With Kakashi)

"All right lets start off with an introduction with your likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies etc."

Sakura interjected "Kakashi-sensei could you show us an example?"

He thought about it for a second "Hmm, all right. My name is Hatake Kakashi; you don't need to know my likes or dislikes, dreams? Hmmm….I have many hobbies…"

All three students sweat dropped 'all we learned was his name….'

"You go first funny guy." Naruto just sat there with his arms behind his head and eyes seemingly closed. "Yoo-hoo…you awake Naruto?"

Naruto turned his head to look at Kakashi, although his eyes were still closed "Hmm? You say something'?" The scarecrow smiled at him "Yes Naruto if you would please introduce yourself…" inwardly he was fuming 'that little bastard! That feigning ignorance thing is my shtick! He stole it!'

"Well let's see…my likes are….hmm…food! Especially ramen! Oh, and pranks. My dislikes are….people in general I guess…especially tardy people…" Kakashi sweat dropped at this. "As for hobbies…I have none. I do have dream though, to become powerful enough to make everyone who disrespected me regret it…especially the villagers." The older man stared at him for a moment 'Hmmm, he obviously doesn't like the village very much…could what he said be a threat against it? Maybe I'm reading too much into this…still I should probably inform Hokage-sama.

(With Naruto the next day)

"Now you have until lunchtime to try and get the bells away from me…and go!"

All of his students rushed into the foliage for cover…except for the blond headed fox boy. "You know compared to your teammates you're a little….off"

He just smiled at the older man "Oh trust me, _I know_." The double meaning behind that statement was not lost on Kakashi. The scarecrow suddenly leaned forward to avoid a swipe at the bells from behind and kicked the aggressor in the back of the head, but his eyes widened in surprise when the Naruto look-alike dispelled with a puff of smoke 'Kage Bunshin? Guess he got something out of that scroll after all…wonder what else he learned'

"Not bad Naruto but your stealth could use some work, was't expecting a _Kage_ Bunshin…full of surprises aren't we?"

Naruto said nothing at his comment but was off like a shot with kunai in both hands 'Lets see how the scarecrow likes a little fire!' the blond haired boy swung wildly at Kakashi trying to slice him to ribbons.

The gray haired jonin caught whiff of the smell of smoke and took notice of the explosive notes attached to Naruto's kunai and managed to jump away from him just as they detonated.

'What the hell…oh I see it was a _Kage Bunshin_ again….clever Naruto very clever.'

A dozen more _Kage Bunshin _came barreling out of the forest armed with exploding kunai

"I call this move Uzumaki Ookii Utsu! (Uzumaki Big Bang)" The clones rushed forward to surround Kakashi on all sides before they exploded all at once.

Naruto's victory quickly became a shallow one as Kakashi's charred corpse was not present.

"That was impressive Naruto…but you're not the only one who can make shadow clones you know…"

Naruto grits his teeth in frustration "Tch, I guess so huh? Let's try that one more time!" He summons another dozen clones that rush forward to surround him.

'If you can do it, so can I Naruto' Just as Kakashi was about to _Kawarimi _with one of his own shadow clones he felt another clone trying to sneak up on him and threw it into the waiting crowd of kamikaze clones, his eyes widened in shock when instead of dispelling the Naruto he threw took the full brunt of the explosion.

"Na-NARUTO!!" Kakashi stared into the smoke wondering what had become of his student. From within the crater created by the explosion came the real Naruto, with several deep cuts across his chest bleeding from the tattered remains of his outfit and in some places his skin was charred black, he looked like a burn ward patient.

Kakashi, not to mention Sasuke and Sakura's, eyes widened in surprise yet again when a red haze seemed to envelop his body and his cuts began to knit back together and charred skin was replaced with a smooth lightly tanned epidermis.

Naruto was pissed off "Fuck that hurt! Scarecrow-baka! I'm through playing around!"

He formed the cross seal for _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ and two shadow clones appeared at his sides ready to rush Kakashi "Lets see how you get outta thi-BRIIIIIIIING!!"

The three genin were shocked when the timer for their goal went off signaling the end of the test, this especially upset Sasuke and Sakura who had been too wary to try and attack Kakashi for fear of being ripped apart by Naruto's brutal assault.

The young ninja's teacher eye-smiled "Well….that was…interesting." A group sigh followed.

After Kakashi tied Sasuke and Sakura to stumps for failing to actually _participate_ in the test, not that he could blame them really, he left telling Naruto not to let them go or share any of his food…which of course he promptly disobeyed by doing both, mostly out of spite, and when Kakashi returned he announced the true purpose of the test: teamwork, and told them that they were now officially Team 7.

(With Sandaime)

The pipe Sarutobi had been preparing to light promptly fell from his open hands in shock. "You say his injuries healed within a few seconds?!"

Kakashi had a grim look upon his face at admitting he had negligently endangered his student, but the Hokage needed to know just what he had seen. "Correct sir, and not only that but, his injuries were very serious as well…if he hadn't healed them, without proper medical attention he would have died from blood loss and trauma in minuets."

The Sandaime massaged his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a head-ache coming on.

"I knew the boy was a fast healer but this is a bit far fetched…maybe it has something to do with his accessing the Kyuubi's chakra the other day…regardless I want you to keep a close eye on him Kakashi and if it appears as though the beast is attempting to break free take precautions understood?" The gray haired jonin replied with a bow and left towards the hero's memorial before returning home.

(With Naruto)

Unbeknownst to Kakashi who was deep in thought while making his way home, a silent gaze of startling cerulean blue eyes and slit pupils was intently observing him.

"Damn that Scarecrow using my own attack against me…well he's going to be in for one hell of a surprise come tomorrow morning…" The Kyuubi and his container's expressions were one at the beginnings of a truly artistic prank on the annoying Jonin.

* * *

And here's a prank of my own in the form of a Cliffhanger! Hate me…or not, I don't care.


	3. Geezers, Girls, and The Food of Gods!

I don't own Naruto…if I did Sasuke would be Naruto's duck-butt Lackey and Sakura would be mute….

Normal speech/Kyuubified Naruto/Bijuu, Boss Summon "Speech/_**Speech/ **_**Speech!**"

'Thought'

Okay so I noticed in the Manga that Naruto's original outfit pre-time skip makes him look a lot like a fox, from the colors to the white fur like collar its all playing on the Vulpine angle. That being said Naruto's new outfit would make him look somewhat like the Kyuubi…at least in terms of color scheme…so for his new outfits just imagine the pre-time skip only in a Red and Black color.

* * *

"Ugh, I'm starving!" As Naruto walked down Konoha's main street he noticed that more people seemed to be avoiding him than usual. Normally when the vulpine-esqe boy journeyed into the public view he encountered two types of reactions from the citizens of his home village; Hatred and Fear. Lately it seemed as though the reactions from the general populace seemed to be leaning more towards fear and he couldn't help but smirk.

Kyuubi had told him that with his body now tapping into even more of the _Fox Chakra _unconsciously it would more than likely inspire an instinctual reaction in those of lesser will…similar to the wary feeling prey might have when a predator is near, he was pleased to see the theory was indeed correct.

'I could definitelyget used to this reaction. Now what should I have for lunch…' **'I'm surprised it took you this long to get over that ridicules ramen obsession of your's.'**

The blonde haired jinchuriki stood aghast at this. 'Blasphemy! Ramen is the food of the Gods! Just because I feel like eating something else doesn't mean I'm being unfaithful…right?' The massive fox actually sweat dropped at this **'Hell if I know kit, I don't eat. All that ramen is stunting your growth though…its just plain unhealthy.'**

A tick developed on his containers forehead "Shut up baka Tou-san!" the stupid fox knew he was sensitive about his height. **'All right ill drop it kit…for now. By the way you really shouldn't speak to me out loud like that…people will think your'e insane.'**

'Tch, whatever.' It was true that people on the street stopped and looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

Naruto stopped outside a bar that had a banner advertising the best dango in town.

'It's also the ONLY dango place in town' "Ohiyo! Welcome to Ketsunoana, home of the best dango in t-" the owner stopped short when he saw just _who_ had entered his store "Get the hell outta here you damn gaki!" "What the hell?! Gimme one good reason why I should leave!" as if he didn't already know the reason. It was well known and accepted among the villagers that the resident punching bag, a.k.a. Naruto, would usually respond to insults, threats, and overall aggression directed at his person with either a bit of whining before acceptance or a half hearted threat of his own and either way the shopkeepers almost always got their way. The look upon the blond teens face was not one of defiance but, one of anger; it was a look that promised violence if he didn't get his way. "Uh, c-cause your'e to young to drink that's why!" Naruto grimaced, that was a weak excuse and the old bastard knew it. "Those rules don't apply to shin obi and you know it you coot!" "W-why you little…still, we don't serve your kind here!"

An evil looking grin came over his features; this old man was just about to make a mistake that would make Naruto very happy. "And what 'kind' would that be prey tell?!"

The old bastard got a smug look on his face "Don't feign ignorance you little de-" the man was silence however when a kunai narrowly missed his head and embedded itself in the wall behind him. 'Shit! He was so close too!' Very close in fact for if the old man had finished his implication it would have been grounds for Naruto, as a Shinobi, to execute him on the spot. The woman who threw the kunai went over to retrieve it and whisper something in his ear which caused the old bar owner to pale considerably, afterwards she ordered another round of dango and sweet sake and motioned for the boy to join her.

"Don't worry about that old fart he gives everyone a rough time at first." Naruto very much doubted that was the case but let it slide upon closer inspection of his 'savior'.

She was taller than he was, but then again almost everyone was, by about a foot and a half; dark violet hair pulled into an sharp pony tail that reminded him of a certain lazy cloud watcher, bright yellow pupils with slight slits and dark colored lips drawn into a taught yet wry smile that gave her the expression of an cat that just ate a canary, her bra-less C-cup breasts thinly veiled by an loose chain mail vest fit perfectly on her frame, wide rounded hips that were lacking in thin layers of fat were a sure sign of frequent physical activity and often seen on shin obi gave way to a khaki mini-skirt that gave just the barest view of lacy black lingerie that would have any hot-blooded male over the age of 14 drooling, not to mention legs that went on for miles….this was no mere girl as Naruto had most often encountered, oh no, this was a WOMAN.

"You got an eye-full brat?" "Huh? What? I-I wasn't…" Already feeling the beginning of a hot blush on his cheeks he tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Lucky for that jerk you stepped in when you did because I was just about to eviscerate the geezer." "Is that so…" the woman smirked at him "…what's your name gaki? Mine's Anko by the way." "Better remember my name because I'm going to' be infamous one of these days…the one and only Uzumaki Naruto at your service!" Anko went bug eyed at the mention of his name. "Wait! You wouldn't be the same Uzumaki Naruto that pulled that prank on Hatake Kakashi would you?!" The blonde got a huge grin on his face at this 'so an admirer of my work huh?' "That's me all right!" A serious expression came over the Snake Mistresses face "Okay its been absolutely killing me and I just have to know, how the heck did you manage to catch him so unaware to be able to hog tie him, stuff his clothes with straw, drag him all the way up the Hokage tower and hang him from the top of the advanced warning siren?!" "Well everybody has a weakness…and I knew the pervert would never mistrust that precious smut he's so fond of, so when he went to bed I snuck into his flat and dusted the pages of his book with a finely ground sleeping agent and the second he stuck his nose in it…BAM! Out like a light hehehe."

Anko's mouth hung open in disbelief at this kid, this _genin's _cunning and prowess at stealth. Managing to sneak up on Kakashi of the Sharingan; an ex-ANBU captain for crying out loud! Unbelievable!! "Absolutely brilliant! Your'e a freaking genius kid! I've always wanted to give Kakashi a good kick to the balls but man you _HUMILIATED_ him! It's just too great!"

Afterwards Naruto finished both his lunch and having his ego stroked by Anko he dismissed himself to meet up with his team for mission assignment. As the purple haired vixen watched the boy leave she couldn't help think how cute he looked with those whisker-like birthmarks and half closed eyes of his in such a fox like manner. She was one of the few shinobi in the village who had no real bad experiences with kitsune seeing as her parents died long before the Kyuubi came and she had only been a genin at the time it attacked. 'Hmm, Uzumaki Naruto huh? Definitely going to keep an eye on him"

(With Team 7 at Hokage Tower)

"Now let's see here, we have babysitting duties for an Elder's grandson, shopping the neighboring village, potato digging…" "NO! Just no! No more of these stupid chores! I demand a proper mission!" Iruka promptly rounded on his former student for his impudence in the Hokage's presence "You idiot your'e just a rookie! Everyone starts off with simple missions and works their way up don't you know that?!!" "Dammit! I'm sick of doing these lame-ass D Rank missions that even the most mentally ill-equipped of civilians could perform!" "You'd know dope" 'Kyaaah! Your'e sooo cool putting Naruto in his place Sasuke-kun!' Naruto of course pretended to not hear Sasuke's dig which royally pissed off the last Uchiha for some reason. "Is this what it means to be a Ninja?! To be an errand boy for civilians who have nothing better to do than waste their money and OUR time on things like potato digging when we're supposed to be deadly assassins NOT farmers!" The Sandaime seeing that Naruto wasn't going to drop the issue so easily decided to meet the blond boy half way before he developed a migraine. "All right Naruto if sensei thinks your team is ready I have a C-Rank mission you can have so, how bout it Kakashi-kun?" Seeing the eager looks from all three of his students he barely had a choice in the matter 'Besides….this could be a good test for Sasuke' "Well…I suppose their up to it." Naruto began hollering with joy and Sakura took it upon herself to silence the annoying blond with a strike to the back of the head which the boy promptly sidestepped causing her to overextend and fall flat on her face. Ignoring his students' antics Kakashi inquired the specifics of the mission. "It's an escort mission to the Land of Waves" he handed the silver haired jonin the mission statement "Yatta! Who are we escorting; a wealthy merchant, Daimyo, or maybe even a Princess?!" "Bring him in…" Through the large double doors of the Hokage's office stepped a heavy-set man of average height who appeared to be in his early to mid fifties, he was in dire need of shave and bath as he smelled distinctly of cheap rice wine and several days' old sweat.

"This is Tazuna; he is a bridge builder- "Master Bridge Builder!" the old man interjected.

"-Master bridge builder…you are to escort him to his home in the Land of Waves so he may finish a bridge under construction there…" Tazuna eyed the three genin over for a few seconds before snorting in derision "What's this? They look like a bunch of snot-nosed brats to me; especially the short one with the stupid look on his face…is he taking a nap standing up or what?" A tick appeared on the temperamental blonde's forehead at the mention of his lack of height "What'd you say you fat stupid drunk?! I'll show you who's short! Ill put my foot so far up your ass that when I pull it out you'll be stooped over so low you'll never need waste your money on a blowjob again! Ill rearrange your face motherfummf!!" Kakashi wisely covered his student's mouth before things got too out of hand in the presence of the Hokage. "U-umm, perhaps it would be best if you apologized to him Tazuna-san he can be….quite vengeful to those who wound his pride" Kakashi still vividly remembered waking up binded by ropes swinging from the Hokage tower like some twisted piñata not to mention he STILL hadn't gotten all of the little bits of straw out of his clothes…he hadn't been able to read his Come Come Paradise in public for fear of suddenly passing out and becoming easy prey for another of Naruto's pranks.

"What?! I'm the client here I can insult whoever I want. And I'm not afraid of that little brat so there." The one-eyed jonin sighed in defeat 'Oh well, I tried to warn him' "All right go home and pack for a journey and meet up at the village gates in one hour"

(With Naruto)

Naruto was ecstatic, and not even Tazuna's insulting his stature could _completely _ruin his good mood. **'Your'e certainly in a good mood kit' **'Course' Tou-san, even if its just for a few weeks…I'm finally escaping from this rotten village filled with nothing but bad memories…well maybe not ALL bad.' The countless times he had sought refuge from his horrible existence at Ichiraku comes to mind. **'If it hurts so much to stay kit then why not just leave' **'Because…I've got nowhere else…I wouldn't know where to go or what to do. Anyway they'd just send hunter nin after me if I tried to leave anyway so I doubt I'd get far. **'Hmp'** 'Anyway…ill finally get to see what the world is like outside the village, get to see new places and meet new people…people who don't automatically hate my guts. And who knows maybe well even get a chance to rip a few bandits' heads off!

Now the Kyuubi was getting a bit excited too…there really weren't enough opportunities for violence in the boy's home town. As Naruto finished packing supplies for the trip and was preparing to walk out of his apartment he spied a bottle of super concentrate wasabi flavored soy sauce on his dinner table, for when the taste of cup ramen got a bit bland, and had a devious idea 'This'll teach that old fart to call me short'….

* * *

Okay so I'm probably going to take the next chapter and go thru the entire wave arc. Expect lots of digs at Haku's sexuality (Yes im keeping him as a dude), multiple short jokes at our blond hero's expense and the tidal wave of gore that's sure to follow!

Oh! And for those of you that don't know Wasabi is like Japanese Horseradish…if you have no idea what that is…you're lucky, and if you don't know what soy sauce is…you've obviously had some form of Sociophobia and have been living in a cave all your entire life till you decided to get over it, get a computer, and read this fan fiction.


	4. Never play BINGO when Sober

I don't own Naruto…if I did Sasuke would be Naruto's duck-butt Lackey and Sakura would be mute….

Normal speech/Kyuubified Naruto/Bijuu, Boss Summon "Speech/_**Speech/ **_**Speech!**"

'Thought'

First I want to get a few things outta the way. Here's a response I wrote to a review by Piffsheep when she commented Naruto's personality seemed a bit abrasive:

"I'm trying to go for a more emotionally realistic Naruto, consider that it's universally agreed upon among Naruto fan fiction writers that he's treated like crap by the villagers, then the factor in the mistakes made with the seal in my work which provides an emotional support and father figure in the form of Kyuubi. Now in the Manga they make the Bijuu out to be akin to a natural disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake only with sentience, so I tend to interpret this as the Kyuubi isn't evil as he is portrayed so much as he puts no value on human life...much in the same way an average person would probably step on an insect without even considering that it might not WANT to die...see what I mean?So if we look at it realistically and throw out that superhuman empathy bullcrap Naruto subscribes to in Canon we have a Jinchuriki that, while not necessarily unstable, doesn't really care if someone dies (by his hand or otherwise) unless he's emotionally attached to them. Also if it seems as though Kyuubi might be a bit bloodthirsty...I figure some people LIKE to step on insects' yea? So Kyuubi and Naruto by extension might not put value on the lives of others and so wouldn't have any problem killing others when the mood strikes him." -Hope that gives a substantial understanding into his personality…at the time I was writing it Naruto's personality in my FF reminded me of Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist especially his sensitivity to his height XD. I figure even though Naruto is much more powerful and cunning than in cannon he should still have an Achilles Heel so to speak…so why not his most obvious.

* * *

(With Team 7 En route to Wave)

"I don't see why we have to baby sit this old-timer all the way back to his home town. Ain't they got Ninja in Wave Country geezer?" Tazuna would have bristled at the blond boy's disrespect, except for the fact he was still mourning his forced sobriety thanks to Naruto's contamination of his entire stash of alcohol. Not even Kakashi had figured out how the foxy child had not only managed to steal Tazuna's supply from his pack and spike it with wasabi flavored soy sauce but, somehow poisoned the bottle of rice wine the old man was carrying at the time with no-one the wiser.

"There are no ninja in Wave country Naruto but…in most other countries the cultures and customs might be different, but hidden villages do exist, and so do ninjas. To the many countries of the continent the existence of a Shinobi Village means military power. This is how they maintain advantages over each other. But, it's not the villages that rule the countries; they merely stand equal with the countries government. A small country like Wave doesn't receive much interference from larger countries and may not need a Shinobi Village. Within the many Shinobi Villages, Leaf, Mist, Cloud, Sand, and Stone are the largest and most powerful and thus referred to as the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

And, these are the only Villages with the right to call their leader 'Kage'." Team 7 and escort trudged on toward their destination and passed a small puddle of water after awhile though, this was only noticed by Kakashi and, much to the silver haired jonin's surprise, Naruto who after a look of confirmation from his sensei acted as though he hadn't noticed it. After the group left the puddle behind two figures burst from the waters surface. They were clothed identically in moss green shin obi vests and camo pants; they had heavy metal gauntlets with sharp bladed fingers on opposite arms with a long chain attaching them. The two nin quickly entangled the genins' sensei in the metal chain connecting them "One down…" a sharp tug from the attackers' gauntlets and Kakashi burst into a shower of blood and gore. Sakura screamed out in horror at their fallen teacher "Two down…" they rushed at Naruto who had an excited look on his face at the bloody display, just as they were about to entangle the blond boy his Uchiha teammate flung a kunai that forced the chain to stick to a tree trunk and the two attackers quickly detached it, the shorter of the two rushed at Naruto while the taller sped towards Sakura and the old bridge builder.

Naruto grabbed the assailants' clawed gauntlet as it was aimed at his chest, the razor claws of the weapon sliced into his skin but he barely noticed "Oh you've screwed up now!" the mask wearing nin's eyes went wide in shock as the spiky haired child grabbed his forearm and flung him over shoulder and strait at his partner who was just about to gore the bridge builder and his protectors. The force of Naruto's throw cause them to slam into a tree so hard that the bark caved with a large *Crack!*. Kakashi showed up just as the two brothers slumped to the ground and tied them up, much to the relief of Sakura and Tazuna. "Good work on protecting the client you two" the scarecrow rounded on his other student and adopted a worried expression "Naruto you shouldn't be so reckless…these claws are covered in poison" "Tch, so what? My hands already healed see?" he showed his companions the unblemished skin of his palm "And poison can't hurt me…" "T-that's the same thing you did when you got hurt at the bell test isn't it? How did you heal so fast?" Sakura and Sasuke were curious of their teammates incredible healing…although the latter would never admit it. "Huh? I guess it's like a _Kekkei Genkai…" _"And it makes you immune to poison…" 'Oho so the duck-butt is a little envious of my power huh?' "Yup, that poison was pretty weak, it would take some really powerful toxins to slow me down for more than a few seconds." "S-Sugoi! That's a really useful ability Naruto! What's it called?" "Hmm, I think Tou-san called it _Iki no Zenko (Purity of the Fox)_ …" Kakashi's curiosity was peaked at THAT statement 'Tou-san?' "No wonder you weren't worried about those two ninja, you wouldn't need to worry about too much with that ability" Naruto just loved having his ego stroked and especially when it took attention away from the mighty Uchiha. " Oh yea I've never been sick a day in my life! I could even re-grow an arm or a leg if I needed to!" Kakashi committed the boys words to memory for Hokage-sama later while the Uchiha and his number one fan girl were having similar thoughts 'So the dope has a _Kekkei Genkai_ huh? Hn, its still nothing compared to the _Sharingan' _'I-I didn't know Naruto had a bloodline…I wonder if he's from a dead clan? Although he's still not as cool as Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun is the best!'. The old bridge builder was sweating bullets as Kakashi turned to frown at him "Tazuna-san…we need to talk"

(In clearing near Tazuna's village)

After Kakashi had confronted him Tazuna revealed that his country was under the thumb of a incredibly wealthy shipping magnate with dealings in the underworld named Gatou and, while knowing full well that he wanted him dead and would most likely send missing nin to do it, his country was too poor because of Gatou to afford a B Rank or higher mission. While Kakashi wanted to return to the village his students' reluctance to abandon the mission forced him to move on with it.

Naruto threw a kunai at the sound of movement in the bushes. "Naruto stop trying to act cool!" "I heard something over there" He moved toward the brush and revealed a white-furred hare "Ah! Naruto be careful you almost hit this poor bunny!" "Don't get too attached cause that rabbit is going to be our dinner" "What?! No wa- "Duck!" The group flung themselves to the ground as a massive cleaver flew overhead and embedded itself halfway into the trunk of a tree, a giant of a man landed atop the blade just moments later.

"Well now if it isn't the Kirigakure missing nin Momochi Zabuza, stay back and protect Tazuna you three this ones on a completely different level from the ones before." "_Sharingan Kakashi_, the man said to have copied and mastered a thousand jutsu. Sorry but, im going to have to ask you to step aside and let me kill the old man" "This looks to be a tough fight…unless I do this!" Kakashi lifted the head band covering his right eye revealing a scarlet colored iris and three swirling tomoe within the pupil. "He he, I get to see the fabled _Sharingan_ so early…I'm honored" "Sharingan, Sharingan, what the HELL is Sharingan!?!" While Sasuke went into an explanation of the Doujutsu and its abilities Kyuubi was fuming **'Sharingan…. **the Fox lets out a loud rumbling growl **…the name brings up memories of that man….those accursed eyes are the bane of my existence!! When, when will those **_**EYES **_**no longer persist me?!' **

"Enough Talk! I need to kill that old man but it seems ill have to go through you first Kakashi!"

Zabuza leapt from his perch and landed on the surface of a small pond and began forming hand seals "Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!_" _Suddenly a thick mist started to cloud the field, obscuring everything not within a few feet. "Eight vital points" The ex-hidden mist Nin's creepy voice seemed to come from everywhere within the mist "Lungs, liver, spine, clavicle vein, Carotid artery, brain, kidneys, and heart…which one should I pick." A wave of killer intent flooded over the Konoha nin; Sakura fell to her knees and started whimpering in fear, Sasuke shaking uncontrollably almost committed suicide out of fear till Kakashi reassured him that he wouldn't let his teammates die, and Naruto….actually yawned out of boredom. Zabuza suddenly appeared behind the genin with his massive sword poised to cut them in half, Naruto reacted quickly and leapt out of the way while his teacher pushed the other two genin and Tazuna to the side.

The shirtless swordsman quickly gained an advantage over Kakashi and kicked him into the middle of the lake where he trapped the silver haired jonin in a sphere of water.

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu" The water at Zabuza's feet rose up and formed a replica of its creator that began stalking toward the genin "He he he, if you think wearing a forehead protector and carrying a weapon makes you a ninja? A real ninja is someone who's survived countless brushes with death!" 'Tch, if that was true I should of been a ninja years ago thanks to those stupid villagers…this eyebrow less freak thinks he's cool..' "Basically when you're good enough to be listed in my BINGO book…that's when you can call yourself a ninja!" Zabuza vanished then reappeared in front of Naruto and slammed a brutal roundhouse kick to his head. Sakura cried out to her blond teammate "Just a brat…"

"Run! Take Tazuna-san and get out of here! Mizu Bunshin can only go so far from their creator and he can't chase you while im trapped!" "Like I'm going to give the pretend ninja a chance to escape!" Zabuza's clone once again moved at high speed and appeared behind the bridge builder, before either genin had a chance to react he swung his sword down cleaving the old man down the middle. Everyone's looked on in shock when Tazuna burst into smoke. "What?! A Shadow clone…" He turned to Sasuke and Sakura "Which one of you did that hmm?" "Hey no-brow over here!" "You made that shadow clone blondie?!" The missing nin pointed his cleaver at the golden haired genin "Where's Tazuna boy?!" "He he, like id tell you freak…why don't you come over here and make me?!" The mizu bunshin rushed forward and launched a strait kick to his abdomen however it turned out to be a shadow clone that, instead of dispelling with a poof, lit up like a flash bomb and exploded destroying the water clone. Kakashi's eyes shot up to his hairline at this and Zabuza looked a little pissed he'd been goaded into a trap 'that's!!'

"Grrr, so the little brat knows the Bunshin Bakuha (Shadow Clone Explosion) as well as how to make solid clones…he's no ordinary genin." "Got that right!" The ex-kiri nin's head whipped around to find that the brat was now behind him "Listen up! I don't care what you think makes someone a ninja but know this….you better put down a note in that bingo book of yours with my name cause one of these days I'm going to be infamous." A wide grin spread across his face as he threw a mock fist at the eyebrow-less missing nin.

"Uzumaki Naruto at your service!" Naruto brought his hands into a cross seal and made five shadow clones that bum rushed Zabuza, as the clones came about he swung his sword dispelling them. Another group of clones came up on Zabuza's left which he attempted to dispel as well only to have his cleaver pass through the flimsy illusions 'Bunshin? What?!' the real Naruto flew from a tree branch on the shore behind the distracted man and attempted to plunge a kunai between the mans shoulder blades only to be stopped by a mizu bunshin that sent him flying back onto the shore. The boy's teacher looked on from his water prison with dismay 'Naruto…' Zabuza however was genuinely amused "Well you've definitely impressed me more than those other two pretend ninja but, no matter how good a genin you are you wont kill me so why don't you just tell me where the bridge builder is before I decide to kill your little teammates chibi." Naruto stood up slowly, his gaze level with his feet and his expression unreadable. "What did you say…" the boy was shaking with either fear or anger he couldn't tell "What you having' trouble hearing me from all the way down there chibi? I said tell me where the bridge builder is before I cut you in half." Zabuza let loose another blast of killer intent but it was soon dwarfed by Naruto's own "Who…" Zabuza's expression was on of shock and disbelief at the feeling of pure bloodlust coming from the boy " …are you…" a vortex of orange red chakra sprung forth, the blond haired genin lifted his head to stare at the brow less nin with eyes of blood red and black slits for pupils "…calli_**ng CHIBI!?!" **_The feral boy shot forward and burst through the still stunned Zabuza's mizu bunshin like it was so much wet tissue paper. The older man finally managed to snap out of his daze just as Naruto was bearing down upon him preparing to rip him apart like his water clone before. Instinct kicking in Zabuza brought up his sword to block the blonde's attack only for him to use the sword as a vault over the missing nins head and deliver a vicious drop kick to the small of his back. Zabuza went flying over the lake and smashed through several trees before skidding to a stop on the ground, covered in bruises.

Sasuke, Sakura, and the freed Kakashi could only look between Zabuza and their teammate who was trudging onto the shore towards his now unconscious form.

Kakashi was about to rush over and stop his charge from ending the missing-nin's life and thus inflicting mental trauma upon himself, not to mention Sasuke and Sakura, before a young man/woman? With long brown hair in two braids and wearing what appeared to be a white and red mask and the symbol for Kiri adorned the forehead. The youth picked up Zabuza's beaten form and after a promise of returning to finish off the bridge builder, he/she beat a hasty retreat. Naruto let out a bestial cry and slammed his fist into the dirt making a crater several times larger than his fist. "N-Naruto…are you…alright?"

Kakashi warily approached the boy, hoping he wouldn't turn his rage upon him…

"Huh? Yea im fine I guess….next time I see that brow-less freak, him and his little girlfriend are going to wish I'd killed him though." The jonin let out a sigh of relief as Naruto's voice and features returned to normal "That's nice Naruto…now can you tell me where Tazuna-san is?" "The geezer? I knocked him out and dragged him into the bushes when everyone was distracted with your fight with the freak**" **after waking up Tazuna the party of Konoha ninja and client went on their way to the bridge builder's home.

(Tazuna's house}

"Father!" Upon arriving at the bridge builders home the were greeted by his daughter, Tsunami, and grandson, Inari, who commented that the ninja's presence was useless as Gatou who had enough power and money to do whatever he wanted would just end up having them killed. Naruto looked at the melancholy child and saw a look that he had seen upon his own face many times in the past…it annoyed him. "Tch, why the hell did you give this kid such a lucky name? You shoulda named him Oroka!!" Naruto bust out laughing while Inari ran crying from the room. "Naruto…that wasn't very nice…" Kakashi frowned at him "Whatever…kids just a big crybaby…if he hates living so much why not just kill him self and do everyone a favor." Kakashi leveled a stern glare at the boy "Naruto…meet me outside for a minute…" Out on the porch Kakashi took a few moments to compose himself, Naruto interrupted his thoughts "Well? Are you going to ask your stupid questions or what baka scarecrow!" Ignoring his impetuousness he answered "Naruto…about some of the…abilities you displayed during our last battle…" "Yeah?"

"Where exactly did you learn the _Bunshin Bakuha_…?" Naruto sighed "From the same place I learned to make Shadow Clones of course" Kakashi would face palmed if he didn't think it would fit his image "Ah I see, did you manage to learn any other jutsu from the Forbidden Scroll?" the boy smirked "How bout we just keep that a surprise…its more fun that way" his teacher frowned at this "I'm not sure I like surprises…."

"Well that's too bad for you isn't it?" Sensing he wasn't getting anywhere with the conversation he decided to switch topic. "About that chakra….do you know what it was?" "You mean the _Fox Chakra_?" "So you do know what it is…do you feel any different since it happened? Like someone is trying to control your thoughts?" Naruto got a bit angry at that "Why don't stop beating around the bush scarecrow…you act like saying _Kyuubi_ will cause lighting to strike you or something." "Gomen Naruto, I just need to make sure it isn't trying to break free of the seal" "Why would he…I'm the one who used the chakra." The scarecrows eyes were as wide as dinner plates "Are…are you saying you can call up its chakra willfully? Like your normal chakra?!" he scoffed "Duh, what you thought I lost control or something?" he snickered at the jonin's bewilderment "If you can control the chakra at will why didn't you tell me or the Hokage sooner?"

"Cause you never asked of course!" Naruto was now rolling on the ground laughing at the look on Kakashi's face. "Naruto I think you should tell me everything…" "Tch, that's way too much trouble…once the Old Man hears about it he's just going to ask me for my statement and I hate repeating myself…" "Alright fine…but the second we get back to Konoha your going to explain just how much you know to Hokage-sama and I" The blond boy just nodded in confirmation and went back in the house for dinner.

As Kakashi and followed his increasingly interesting student into Tazuna's home he noticed Sakura looked like she wanted to ask something…well that or she had indigestion. "Something on your mind Sakura?" "Kakashi-sensei…I was just wondering about what happened to Naruto back when we fought Zabuza" 'Ah I was wondering when they'd ask' "Well Sakura I think that's something you should ask HIM about"

The bubblegum haired girl spoke hesitantly to her teammate…as though he was a cornered animal ready to rip her to shreds "Umm…N-Naruto…I…was…" seeing she was having difficulty he decided to save her the trouble "It's another aspect of my _Kekkei Genkai_, its called _Warugi no Nogitsune(Malice of the Fox)."_ Sakura seemed to relax a bit at that. "Oh I see…so there's more to it than just healing huh?" "Yep, _Warugi no Nogitsune_ doubles my physical aspects for awhile…sort of like opening the _Hachimon_ only not as powerful or as harmful" "Oh I see…" Truthfully Sakura didn't really get it…but she wasn't about to look stupid in front of Sasuke-kun!

"Well, I'm going to turn in early…night" While Sakura may have been satisfied with Naruto's explanation something just didn't sit right with him. "There's no way that dope could have had such a powerful bloodline and not have anyone notice, it just doesn't make sense! Wait…when Father was alive he always said that I should stay away from Naruto at costs…why was that…yes this is it, im positive that it must have something to do with his bloodline…but what? Something just doesn't add up and I intend to find out what…that dope doesn't deserver that kind of power and when I find out where he got it ill just take it for myself, then _**that man**_ will be nothing…

( Several Weeks Later)

"Tch, damn thugs waking me up from my nap…well at least that little brat finally managed to bring some pride to his namesake." As Naruto drew closer to the finished bridge he notices a thick mist obscuring his view from the outside "Crap! Hope im not to late!"

(With Sasuke and Haku)

"Against my speed you can do nothing, even with those eyes. If the blond one were here you might have succeeded but, as it stands this is the end." The perpetual scowl on Sasuke's face deepened at the possibility that the dope could actually stand a chance where he could not. "Hn, don't compare me to that lose-UGH! "Who's a loser?!" Naruto had just come through the opening between the ice mirrors, landing on Sasuke feet first and planting his face against the hard concrete of the bridge. Haku looked shocked at his actions towards a comrade "Y-You attacked your teammate? Why?" The heel of his foot grinding the now unconscious Sasuke's head against the pavement, Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the masked boy "Because he's annoying that's why!" The boy was suddenly enveloped in the same red haze that had appeared right before the he had defeated Zabuza. Haku recalled what his master had told him about this boy…

(Flashback!!)

As Haku tended to the man he considered a father he couldn't help but steep himself in denial of the fact that a mere Konoha genin had managed to do so much damage to Zabuza where even _Sharingan Kakashi _could not; six broken ribs, a shattered collarbone, multiple fractures in the vertebrae of his spinal cord along middle back that had ALMOST cost him his ambition, not to mention the countless bruises, shallow cuts, and skid marks from his landing….if it wasn't for Haku's knowledge of the healing arts he would have been out of commission for quite some time.

"Haku…" "Yes Zabuza-sama?" "Listen…the next time we go after the bridge builder I want you to take care of the genin while I handle Kakashi" "Yes Zabuza-sama" "But be careful though…that blonde kid he's….like you." Haku stopped tending the mans wounds to stare at him in shock "I don't know if that was some sort of bloodline he used to beat me…but I know that even if I went up against him again I still couldn't beat him if he used that power. That kid…he's young but, much stronger than me and in that way he's your equal, make no mistake Haku…if you don't kill your heart and take him seriously…you WILL die."

(Flashback over!!)

Even keeping Zabuza's words in mind he was still unprepared as the boy appeared out of nowhere and smashed the mirror he was occupying and his mask along with it. Haku quickly recovered dashed back into the rapidly reforming mirror. Upon seeing Haku's unmasked face Naruto's face lit up in recognition. "You! You're that girl I saw gathering herbs in the forest!" Haku's eyes narrowed dangerously "I am a male" "WHAT?! Aww sick! Now that dream I had about you the other night is going to turn into a nightmare…" The girl faced boy blushed uncontrollably at his admission. "Eh? What's that? You sure your'e not a woman? I don't think a guy would blush like that…" "I am quite sure of my own gender!" "Oh…guess it makes sense why'd you hang around with a guy like Zabuza then…" He leveled a glare at the blonde teen "And what are you implying by that?" "Well he's your lover ain't he?" If it was possible Haku blushed even harder at that statement "He is not! Zabuza-sama is the man who is like a father to me. Let me tell you of my parents and their death…" Just as Haku was about to go into a longwinded sob story about his childhood and subsequent attachment to the man who gave him a new purpose he was forced to dodge as Naruto smashed the mirror he was in less than a second previously. "Yea yea, leave the touchy feely crap for outside the battlefield will ya? I honestly couldn't care less about someone else's woeful childhood. Besides I really don't see a reason to think of such depressing things, why not just let loose and have fun?!" "This is a battle to the death…" "Exactly! Let's get wild!" Haku sighs at the boys ignorance of such a grave situation, had he no appreciation for life? "As you wish, I strike!" Haku rushed from mirror to mirror at such a high speed that even with his enhanced senses Naruto could barely follow it, the boy pelted him with a rain of needles that pierced every tendon, severed every nerve, and as the boy fell to the ground paralyzed Haku prepared to sever a major artery and end his life, but the boy started laughing. His sudden humor of his imminent death was…disturbing to say the least. "I fail to see the humor in one's own life ending" "Hehe, you would. But I'm afraid its not cause of my situation that I find this so funny…it's the situation you've gotten yourself into." I-I don't understand…." "Oh don't worry…you will in just a moment" Suddenly the red haze of evil feeling chakra came back and in much greater force, it bubbled over like boiling water and formed a second skin covering the boy's entire body…two long ear like appendages made of chakra sprouted near the top of his head, and another much longer one appeared at the base of his spine; a tail….it was a lone red tail swinging in a wild and spastic manner as though it had a mind of its own. "WH-what are you?!" _**"Hehehe, funny isn't it?" **_The crimson shrouded boy let loose a roar that shook the bridge with force…the pressure of that energy covering him, 'could it even be called chakra?!' was so strong that it instantly shattered all of Haku's ice mirrors at once and flung him high into the air and the tail-like appendage _stretched _outwards and, taking hold of Haku's ankle, slammed him into the bridge with such force that he could actually _feel_ his bones breaking apart like fragile glass. _**"Hehe, I wonder if he's gotten the punch line yet. Oh, well…seems as though Kakashi is about to end your reason for living…" **_"Haku's eyes went wide and turned to see his precious person being held down by nin-dogs and their master rushing towards him with what looked liked lightning in his hand. Gritting thru his pain Haku managed to stand up and dash forward with the last bit of his life and stop the attack that would end his reason for existing… **'Hey kit, stop that boy before the scarecrow kills him.' **_**'Huh? Why?' **_**'Because I have a feeling he could help us in someway…' **_**'Tch, you better be right about this Tou-san' **_…and just as he was bout to move in the way of the silver haired nin's attack a large red claw made of chakra came out of no where and flung him back. Haku looked on in horror as his 'Father' was stabbed through the chest and killed instantly. As the last of Haku's ebbing strength faded the final image before blissful unconsciousness overtook him was a large blood red…fox standing over him.

* * *

Whoa nelly this took a long time to write…like almost ten hours!

Here's a few more clarifications for you: In Japanese folklore there are a few types of Kitsune, Zenko are like the good foxes that bring good luck and such(In fact their name literally means 'Good Fox') whereas Nogitsune would be the more mischievous and sometimes even malicious of Kitsune spirits. I may explain a bit more of Fox Folklore in later chapters but it probably just is easier to look up the word 'Kitsune' on wikipedia.

I'll be using a lot of folklore in designing abilities and forming Naruto's personality (Like I did in this chapter) and even though Kyuubi isn't a real Kitsune I figure I can chalk it up to the mysteries surrounding the Bijuu and the abilities that Kyuubi's chakra possesses…after all if it can heal a punctured lung so fast that its not even missed who knows what else it could do right? All though I won't give Naruto mastery over all the elements or anything like that, just some really boss healing and Kitsune based Jutsus.

Don't forget to review! Ja ne!


	5. Little Boy, Big Tool

I don't own Naruto…if I did Sasuke would be Naruto's duck-butt lackey and Sakura would be mute….

Normal speech/Kyuubified Naruto/Bijuu, Boss Summon "Speech/_**Speech/ **_**Speech!**"

'Thought'

Okay even I finally hit the 10K word mark with that last chapter and I thought id point out that the average chapter length will be between 1500-3000 words so as to keep the story in an even pace between major arcs which will usually be one or two chapters at an average of about 5K.

Id also like to thank MissNaye who pointed out the grammatical errors I didn't see fit to fix with spell check, so I went back and reposted the chapters with vastly improved wording and ill keep trying to improve on things like that in the future.

* * *

Pain. A simple four letter word that represented the only _constant_ sensation in the average person's life, whether it amounted to a small pain such as the pangs of soreness that afflicted those in a consistent state of motion, or large pains such as a broken bones and torn muscles. Pain is a never-ending reminder of a certain state of being…life.

It was to this, glaring reminder of his failure to protect the only person who had verified his existence since his birth parents, that Haku opened his eyes…and promptly shut them again when a large metal stake was driven through his forehead, at least that's how it felt to Haku. Apparently he had come very close to succeeding in his mission because he _felt_ as though he had been caught aflame and burned to death, brought back to life, had been run over by a horse drawn carriage repeatedly, died once more, then finally revived and laid to rest on a bed of spikes.

"Ugh…" Haku barely noticed the sound of a door opening and shutting to his left.

"So you're finally awake?" Haku finally managed to open his blearily and take notice of his surroundings. He was in small and entirely inconspicuous bedroom; he hadn't left Wave country if the view from the window and the lingering aroma of sea foam was anything to go on. "Where….am I?"

"You're in Tazuna-san's home" Haku followed the sound of the voice to the very same silver haired jonin that had taken away his reason for existing, leaning casually against the doorframe from which he'd entered. "Why did you let me live?" he was more than a little wary of this man…even for someone who had been trained from an early aged to read peoples emotions via body language like Haku his intentions were incredibly hard to discern.

"Well…it was more like Naruto _insisted_ that you shouldn't die. He did everything in his power to make sure that you didn't pass away in your sleep." Haku was definitely shocked at that revelation…the boy who had almost ended his life had saved him from death? "I…see…" "Well he should be coming to visit you soon now that your finally awake" The sound of a door closing told him Kakashi had left to rejoin his team but Haku was too lost in thought to notice. His emotions were like a tidal wave crashing upon the shore of his self-worth, slowly but surely eroding the tenuous crag that was his fragile psyche.

An eternity and then some passed before the creaking of the bedroom door finally broke Haku from his thoughts. "Hey…Haku was it?" He just stared at the tanned boy for a few moments "Why did you spare my life?" he wasn't about to tell the boy that the idea came from a 50 story kitsune so he utilized one of his more well practiced skills; deceit.

"Honestly, it was a spur of the moment kind of thing…sorry if you were hoping for a knight in shining armor deal." Haku let out a hollow laugh "So what will you do now?"

"I shall wait till we part ways then I shall go to rejoin Zabuza-sama" "Tch, so you'd throw away your life just like that?! Why not just move on with your life, there are other fish in the sea you know." The girl-faced boy either didn't notice the barb or just didn't care "I am a tool to be used, this is what I have always been. With Zabuza's death my existence is that of a sword with no wielder…little more than decoration. I have no wish for such a meaningless existence as this." "So why not come back to Konoha with my team? I'm pretty familiar with the Hokage and I'm sure once he saw your skills you could become a shinobi easily!" Haku sighed and stared down at his hands…as if they were covered with filth that would never wash off. "A sword, no matter how sharp, is useless without hands to hold it…" Naruto groaned in frustration 'All shinobi are tools for those who would wield them…yet to turn down an offer to keep their edge sharp…this guy doesn't want to be a ninja…he only wants to be a slave." As the blonde boy was about to give up he was struck with rare inspiration

"So then, you are a blade who desires a swordsmen?" he said nothing in return so Naruto continued "Fine then, since I had a hand in your master's death then you will be _my_ tool from now on." This definitely got a reaction out of Haku "W-What? You…have need of me?" he nodded to the boy "My dreams may not be as great as Zabuza's were, they are really pathetic compared to many men's ambitions but…I swear with all my soul that one day I _will_ reach my dream. Once I make a promise I never go back on my word…that is my _Nindo_." The barest of smiles began to make itself known to Haku "And what is this ambition of yours?" Naruto replied with a grin of his own "Happiness." He adopted a downcast look on his face and it seemed as though he had fallen back into misery…till a sound like a stained glass window shattering repeatedly echoed through the room 'Even his laugh is super effeminate!' "That is truly a worthy ambition…one that many men reach for only to fall short. Do you really have a place in your ambition for someone like me?" Now it was his turn to laugh "You said so yourself…you are a tool waiting to be used. I've got no use for a decoration you know." Haku's smile was so bright you'd think it was the only expression he ever wore "Then I shall stay at your side, my edge will never dull so long as your dream is unfulfilled."

(Outside the gates of Konoha)

By the time Haku had woken up the mission to guard Tazuna was all but finished. After Naruto's battle had ended the very man who was responsible for Wave countries plight, Gatou, had shown up with a large group of hired thugs and attempted to finish the job Zabuza started and, needless to say, Naruto quickly squashed that idea along with Gatou himself, using those extending chakra arms he crushed the evil little man's skull like a walnut. Gatou's frightening execution method coupled with a swarm of shadow clones ala Kakashi, the remaining thugs made a very wise decision in running away screaming their heads off like Jiraiya at an Okama(1) bar. Although Team 7 had already left before the dedication, apparently they had dubbed it 'The Great Naruto Bridge'….the blond haired fox-boy was flattered.

"What's up Haku you look like somebody just killed your dog plunged their hand into its chest, pulled out the heart and ate it." Even the oh so stoic Sasuke sweat-dropped at that comment. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous about starting a new life in Konoha, Naruto-sama." "I thought I told just Naruto is fine Haku….no need to be so formal." He frowned at the shorter boy. "That seems a bit disrespectful though…" "But you're older than me Haku-_neechan_…its not proper ne?" A tick appeared on his 'neechans' forehead. After getting to know Haku a bit he discovered that the boy was extremely sensitive about his girlish looks, almost as much as he is about his height, and no matter how he dressed, walked, or talked he fit in with the female genotype so easily that strangers be they male or female automatically placed him the latter group till he made it a point to tell them his real gender. Knowing Haku's weakness he would often exploit it just to knock him out of his naturally subservient personality even if only temporarily. "I'm only a little over a year your senior Naruto_-kun_…" in what seemed to be a counter to his jabs at his retainers sexuality, Haku had started using a very feminine honorific on his part by addressing the blond boy as Naruto-kun…it wasn't so much insulting as it was…creepy. Naruto shuddered to think his nightmares realized in developing something akin to Sasuke's fan club only with _male_ followers…hopefully within another year or so puberty would finally kick Haku where the sun don't shine and jumpstart his testosterone so he could grow a beard or something, although…that could possibly be even…creepier. "…of course most people would think me old enough to be your _mother_ considering how diminutive you are."

Haku smirked at the temporary victory he'd gained over his young master, temporary because it wouldn't be long before the boy realized he'd been insulted **'Hey Kit you do know diminutive means really small right?' **3...2...1 "Who the hell are you calling short?!!?!" Thanking his former father figure for teaching him the importance of choosing his battles, a.k.a. knowing when to get the hell out of dodge, Haku dashed off in the direction of the upcoming village with Naruto hot on his heels and out to wring his neck.

There were two Konoha chunin guarding the only entrance into the village, when they saw what looked like a delicate young maiden being chased down like a wild animal by the Hated Demon Brat they did what any non-sensible, prejudiced, and semi-amoral (In other words 95% of the village) person would do…kill the brat and woo the girl.

The 'woman' and her pursuer came to a screeching halt as the guards moved out in front of Naruto barring his way. "Hold it! You little demon, how dare you attempt to steal this young woman's purity! Does your perversity never end?!" While one of the ahou(2) pair attempted to frighten the demon the other guard tried to…reassure the girl out of the kindness of his heart, and if he should happen to get a phone number out of the deal well…being a ninja does have its benefits. "Don't worry Miss, we'll dispose of the monster right away, and perhaps a bit later you and I could have a few dri-" both of the men turned around and looked on with eyes wide in shock at the Killer Intent the 'girl' was putting out "Y-You!! How dare you not only insult but attack Naruto-sama unprovoked in my presence?! You shall both suffer dearly for you're insolence!"

The countless beads of moisture among the wet morning grass become instruments of death at Haku's call _"Sensatsu Suishou! (Death by a thousand Needles)_" The two sniveling chunin were reduced to pincushions at Haku's assault. The mock girl looks upon the forms of the shinobi paralyzed upon the ground with utter disgust "Oh, by the way…I'm a man!" Kakashi and the others finally manage to catch up to them and survey the two Nin lying face down with shock, curiosity, and disinterest. "Well now Haku attacking leaf shinobi the minute you arrive at the village doesn't seem like a very good way to get on everyone's good side if you ask me…" "U-Uh well…t-they were threatening Naruto-sama and wouldn't listen to reason so…I just…" Kakashi eye smiles at him and Naruto "Oh well what's done is done, lets make our way to Hokage Tower for now."

(Hokage's office)

"I see, thank you Kakashi-kun, although it was a bit of a misjudgment on your teams part, I'm glad everything turned out all right. Naruto and Haku I'd like to speak to you in private for a moment, the rest of you are dismissed." Kakashi looked as though he was about to speak out but the Sandaime gave him a look that said 'We'll talk about it later' and it seemed to put his mind at ease.

"Now…about you're training under Momochi Zabuza, Haku-san…" Haku stiffened considerably and Naruto placed a hand on the boys shoulder to try and reassure him and the Hokage, seeing this, got a wry smile on his face. "…Well you appear to be at least mid to high chunin level…does that sound about right?" "H-Hai, Hokage-sama"

"Hmmm, interesting indeed…in Kakashi's report he mentioned you possessed a _Kekkei Genkai_ but didn't mention what it was." "My memory before I met Zabuza-sama is a bit of a blur but I distinctly remember my mother called it _Hyouton_, it allows me to create ice but…there are still several parts of it that are a mystery even to me. As far as I know I'm the only user left…" "Ahhh…high level elemental manipulation of Wind and Water to create Ice hmm? The founder of Konohagakure no Sato also possessed an elemental manipulation bloodline although he did not pass his gift onto his children. I'm sure the Council will be ecstatic to bring another elemental _Kekkei Genkai_ into the village, especially a reportedly extinct clan from _Kirigakure no Sato._" "Hey Oji-san can we go ahead and get the questions you had for me out of the way so I can head off to Ichiraku?"

"W-well…Naruto…" Sandaime looked first at Haku then back to the blond haired child "Don't worry about it Oji-san…Haku already knows about the Fox" the elderly man let out a sigh of relief "I-I see…I'm glad you finally have people to connect with Naruto"

"So you told Kakashi that you can willingly control the…Kyuubi's power?" "Yup oji-san." "I see this could be good or bad news depending on how we precede….regardless the council will want to know of this and the sooner we get it out of the way the sooner we can devise a means to counteract any plans they might have to exploit you…" 'Danzo will have to step over my rotting corpse first if he attempts to take him by force'

"Now back to you Haku-san…in light of your skills I'm pleased to give you the rank of chunin…" the Hokage pulled a light blue head band with a metal plate depicting a leaf from his desk "…congratulations Momochi Haku, I'm sure you'll be a fine Kunoichi"

Oh crap. "For the last time I'm a GUY DAMMIT!!" Haku's voice carried all through the village and roused a feeling of dread from the superstitious 'Was this a sign of things to come?'

* * *

Heh, good bit of development in Naruto and Haku's relationship in this chapter. Although I have absolutely no intentions to pair up Naru and Haku make no mistake…there will be lots sexual tension, varying insults between multiple parties, and plenty of innuendo.

If anyone ever asked me I'd tell e'm violence and mean spirited jokes at other peoples expense go together like Comedy and Tragedy.

(1) An Okama Bar is a japanese cross dressing bar, mostly men in womens clothing.

(2) Ahou means Idiot

In the next chapter ill finally be giving a insight into just how powerful Naruto is as well as how it came about.


	6. Those aren't fake

I don't own Naruto…if I did Sasuke would be Naruto's duck-butt lackey and Sakura would be mute….

Normal speech/Kyuubified Naruto/Bijuu, Boss Summon "Speech/_**Speech/ **_**Speech!**"

'Thought'** 'Kyuubi Thinking/Speaking to Naruto'**

* * *

"Haku can you tell me why exactly, you are following me again?" Naruto was beginning to regret taking in the womanly lad for, upon discovering the startling glares and silent whispers of unfulfilled retribution he received from the citizens of Konohagakure, the _Hyouton_ user had stuck to him like a cold sore.

"I must keep close to you Naruto-sama, in case any of these…_fools…_" the air around Haku was visibly colder as he spoke "…attempt to harm you." To him they were more so demons than his master was even on his worst day. It was shocking how much fear and reproach they held for someone who was just as much a savior to the village as the Yondaime.

"I'm not a child Haku and I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself from anything the villagers or even the odd chunin could muster." In truth Naruto didn't really mind having Haku being a bit overprotective of him. Haku's behavior was similar to what he imagined having an older brother might be like; it was like an oasis had been placed in the desert of solitude that was his soul. Sure he had his Tou-san to keep him company but he was never really much of a talker except for when he was trying to get him to stop eating ramen. Haku, however, had a tendency to take things a little too far…even going so far to try to move in with him even though the Hokage had specifically given him an apartment right next to Naruto's so they could keep each other company. Insinuating that he couldn't trust Haku not to try and rape him in his sleep had gotten him to drop THAT issue thankfully…even someone as lonely as him needed his personal space after all.

"W-well yes b-but…." Haku looked abashed that he had inadvertently implied his master was helpless while, Haku himself could attest, he was not. Haku still wasn't fully healed from his injuries with his battle on the bridge in Wave over a month and a half ago…Naruto mentioned something about injuries inflicted with the corrosive _Fox Chakra_ of the Kyuubi taking longer to heal. "B-but what if the council meeting is a trap?!"

'That IS a possibility' he supposed. It wasn't like he had many allies in the village other than the Hokage. "I suppose that's true…and I'm sure Oji-san won't mind if it will give me some leeway against those who'd wish me harm…" Haku looked satisfied and Naruto got a devious idea.

"Haku come here a second…" Naruto pulled the girl faced boy into a back alley away from public eye and gave him a once over; he was dressed in a lighter colored shinobi garb, light grey pants, with an almost skin tight matching shirt. The pants were cut shorter than they should have been, just barely reaching past mid-calf, and the sleeves of his top extended a good 2 inches past his open palms when at his side so he could hide his weapon of choice, senbon needles, easier. A lighter than normal flak jacket adorned his chest, he had ordered it specifically stating that the extra fabric from the compartments would only reduce his speed and accuracy with senbon. Haku had also made a larger effort to become more 'masculine' by opting to let his bangs frame the side of his face rather than bind them in ponytails and had done his hair in a braid that extended just past mid back. All in all he looked like an incredibly attractive Kunoichi…flat chested but, attractive none the less. When Naruto had suggested that he just go shirtless like his former master his face developed a keen blush and immediately brushed off the idea. It seemed Haku had some rather warped ideals of masculinity and made Naruto wonder if because Zabuza's missing-nin lifestyle hadn't afforded him time enough to associate himself with any women he had made Haku dress effeminately on purpose to serve as eye candy.

"U-um…what?" Haku was getting a bit uncomfortable under the blonde boy's appraising eye. He had seen similar leers on Naruto's face before, and it always followed one of his near famous bursts of 'inspiration' as he called it…really it was just another way of saying somebody is about to get pranked and since he was usually the closest to him it was almost always Haku with egg on his face.

"I was just thinking since the people wouldn't stop glaring at us I could take this opportunity to test a new jutsu I've been working on." He brought his hands together and after a burst of smoke the blonde haired boy was now a blonde pony-tailed girl with blood-red sleeveless tracksuit unzipped, revealing a tight black shirt that was cut off at the abdomen, showing off 'her' midriff and shapely D-cup enticingly.

"Call me Naruko! Now onward to the Hokage Tower!" She grabbed Haku's hand and rushed back into the main street. As soon they were back in the public view 'Naruko' took the struggling boy's and hooked it around hers, giving the appearance of a very attractive lesbian couple.

"I'm pretty sure that the _Henge_ isn't a new technique no matter how you use it." The pony-tailed girl flashed him a brilliant smile and said "It isn't Henge" That puzzled Haku…if it wasn't _Henge _could it be some sort of new illusion? It didn't seem any different from the average transformation technique. "Don't worry you'll figure it out" Said the blond bombshell.

While Haku and his 'mistress' where making way to their destination at a steady gait he couldn't help but notice how smooth his companion's skin was. The 'girl' gave off a pleasant heat that Haku could feel through the thin folds of his clothing, he blushed a bit when he noticed the shorter girl's ample breasts jiggled a bit with every step she took. 'Couldn't he have made a bra for him se-' Haku's thought process came to a grinding halt. 'Wait! How can he make them go up and down like that? _Henge_ casts a stationary genjutsu on the users body that affects anyone who looks at them…I shouldn't be able to feel his skin like that either since it wouldn't change his clothing, just make them look different. How is he…?' Naruko smirked as realization dawned on her companion's face.

"I see you finally figured out that it wasn't an illusion." Naruko almost giggled at the look on Haku's face. "H-How are you…I mean, t-those are r-real?" He motioned at 'her' breasts with a trembling hand. "Yup check it out!" Naruko grabbed the stunned boy's hand and placed it on her clothed bosom, moving it in a circular motion so the ice user got a good feel.

"Pretty soft aren't they." When the shell shocked boy didn't respond Naruko looked to see what the problem was. He had frozen up…_literally._ Haku looked like he'd been locked in a freezer for a week, the perspiration that was always present on the skin keeping the body temperature at a constanthad flash frozen and incased him in a layer of frost, he was either unconscious or just too frozen to move.

"Well at least now I know he isn't gay…" Then again he could have just been centerfield all along, the way he had blushed when Naruto had answered the door with just a pair of socks and boxer shorts on one morning didn't seem quite right to him. "Oh well." The blonde haired girl disappeared with a poof of smoke and a small shower of leaves. After checking the human ice sculpture for a pulse and seeing he had nothing to worry about he hefted him onto his back and headed off to the Hokage Tower.

(Konohagakure, Hokage's office)

At the sound of his door opening the Sandaime Hokage quickly stashed a certain orange book in his desk drawer and looked up to see the boy he considered a grandson walk in with one Momochi Haku, whom appeared to be soaking wet and unconscious, upon his back.

"Yo, Ji-san" Before Sarutobi could comment on the boy's predicament, Haku's eyes fluttered open and he leapt from Naruto's back, blushing and speaking incoherently. "B-Breasts! M-My h-hand, so soft I-I-I…" Before the boy could freeze up again Naruto slapped him repeatedly to knock some sense into him. "T-Thank you…I needed that" Naruto just smirked at the effectiveness of his technique.

"Naruto what on earth got into Haku-kun" Sarutobi asked curiously "Ah, he was just excited by my new technique." Notice he said 'by' and not 'about. "Oh? It must be something incredible to make him react like that hmm?" Seeing an opportunity to sucker the old man like he did his still awestruck companion he said "Check it for yourself." Naruto made a hand sign and with a poof of smoke became Naruko. "Ehehe, you've already shown me this trick before, remember Naruto." Naruko gave a Cheshire grin. Hook. Line. And sinker… "It's Naruko, and you've never seen a Jutsu like this Ji-san, go ahead and feel my chest 'kay?" Thinking it best that he humor the boy Sarutobi reached out expecting to pass through the feeble illusion…only to feel soft, clothed flesh. "Kai" After determining that Naruto's technique was in fact NOT an elaborate genjutsu he promptly flew back from the geyser of blood that erupted from his nostrils.

As soon as the Sandaime had cleaned the blood from his robes he turned to Naruto who was once again a male. "N-Naruto…w-what was that?" Naruto couldn't help grinning even wider at the old man. "That was my own variation of the _Henge no Jutsu_ that, instead of an illusion, creates a solid form. I call it _Kitsune Giryou: Shinzenbi Hentai no Jutsu (Fox Skill: The True Transformation Technique)._" The Hokage was flabbergasted…a jutsu that created a real body for the user?! The applications for infiltration alone were unreal! He had only one thing to say to the young creator of the technique. "How…" Naruto seemed to think about it for a moment before replying "Honestly….I have no idea." That was a bit confusing "You're not sure how you do it?" He nodded "I discovered it when I was trying to imitate one of the Yondaime's jutsus." Sarutobi was a bit surprised at the boy…something that he was quickly getting accustomed to nowadays "And what jutsu were you trying to imitate?" "The _Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)."_

Sarutobi seemed to get a faraway look in his eye but didn't comment so Naruto decided to explain how he got the point. "I was trying to imitate the _Hiraishin_ by using the _Fox Chakra_ in combination with _Kawarimi_ to replace with the air." "The…air? Do you mean the air molecules?" "Yea I guess, it was a huge bust though. After I gave up on that I tried using the _Fox Chakra_ with some of the other jutsu I knew and eventually landed on _Henge _and came up with _Hentai_." If there was any doubt before, he can certainly control the Kyuubi's chakra to some extent. "Have you tried this technique with your normal chakra?" The boy nodded in confirmation. "Yeah that's why im stumped. Tou-san thinks that it's because his chakra is so much more potent than a humans that when I perform the jutsu it wraps my body in a second, solid body made of chakra…sorta like being covered by a Kage Bunshin I guess…" So it could only be formed with the use of the fox's chakra…wait, Tou-san? "You…address the beast as Father?" Naruto seemed a bit upset at the old man's disrespectfulness but decided against calling him on it. "Well he's the only one who has always been with me when nobody else was…" Sarutobi lamented at the boy's admission of loneliness 'Oh Minato…would you hate me for letting him live such a sorry life?' "Since I'm the only one who can use it would you keep it a secret for me Oji-san?" The Hokage thought it couldn't hurt anything "Of course Naruto" The boy beamed at him. "Well I think we've wasted enough time here and should get to the council meeting."

Naruto looked over at Haku who had been silent for his entire conversation and saw him staring at his hands like they were a delicious turkey dinner. 'Man, when he finds something he likes he _REALLY _likes it…I wonder if he'll have a naughty dream about me tonight. Well, as long as he doesn't have any dreams with me as a male it should be okay…though after this whole episode its kinda hard to believe that he's interested in anyone so much as he's really obsessive about me in any form.' "Hey Oji-san it's alright if Haku comes with us right?" "I don't see why not." Naruto smiled at him and went over to Haku "Hey Haku you in there?" Haku looked at him with unfocused eyes. "What? You want another feel off of Naruko or something?" That got the ice user's attention "W-What? N-NO! I'm n-not a pervert or anything…" It was so easy the blonde prank master almost reconsidered 'Yeah right' "Never said you were Haku…But if you DO want another feel all you have to do is ask…I'm an understanding kinda guy after all." Haku looked conflicted between disgust, anger, and was that…lust?! Now there's a combination of emotions you don't see too often except in serial rapists 'Have my actions here today created a perverted beast?' Either way Naruto didn't _really _care…what Haku did with himself in the bedroom, or anywhere else, was his own business. "Well if you aren't going to feel me up I suggest we leave before we're late for the meeting" The Sandaime coughed at that and Haku glowered at him, again with a distinct feeling of carnal longing behind it.

(Konohagakure, Grand Council Room)

As the party of three arrived at the meeting room, Naruto noticed a few pinpricks of Killer Intent aimed at him from the civilian council and looks of sympathy to the older boy beside him. Evidently some people didn't like the idea of the heir of what was sure to be one of the next great Clans associating with the hated demon child.

"Sarutobi, I understand you have some information for us regarding Uzumaki Naruto." Apparently Danzo was out of the loop for once if he had decided to show his hand so early…Sarutobi considered this no small victory. "Yes, it has come to my attention that Naruto-kun here has gained access to his tenants chakra, and I thought it prudent to inform you all so the village will not go up in arms next time he need use of it."

There was a pregnant pause before the hall exploded. Shouts of 'why hasn't he been contained' and 'he's a threat to us all' were present of course and every now and then someone would just call for his immediate execution. The Hokage was about insist that everyone sit down and shut up but Haku intervened by releasing a wave of Killing Intent so strong it cause several people on the civilian council to faint and many on the shinobi council to look a bit impressed with the boy.

Danzo was the first to speak up after the temporary panic ended "Pray tell us Sarutobi, how long has he been able to utilize the monster's chakra, what else have you been keeping from us if I may ask?" Naruto bristled at the man…fox, he considered a father being referred to as 'monster' while Sarutobi looked at Danzo as though he were a mosquito feeding off his blood "I do not hide things from this council" Okay that was a lie, but in his defense the council was more of an advisory to the Hokage and it wasn't really necessary that they be aware of _everything_ that goes on in the village.

"Naruto hasn't been able to use the fox's chakra long from what I understand, isn't that right Naruto-kun?" He smiled at the older man "That's right; in fact Tou-san just recently finished fixing it so I could use the _Fox Chakra_ just over two months ago." Inuzuka Tsume, the head of the Inuzuka clan after her husband died in the Kyuubi attack and mother to one of Naruto's peers, spoke up next "What's that pup mean Hokage-sama? Did someone adopt him who has enough skill to mess around with the seal the Yondaime created?" Sarutobi hesitated, should he tell them? Well it was bound to get out anyway seeing as Naruto seemed almost proud of his…adoptive father. "Ah yes, he refers to the Fox himself…he seems to look at him as…somewhat of a…father figure…of sorts" Quite a few on the council looked as though their eyes were about to pop out of the sockets. Akimichi Chouza, head of the clan responsible for almost 40% of Konoha's food sales, inquired "Does that mean he talks to it often?"

Naruto answered seeing as he _was_ the one being addressed…at least in context anyway "Yes _he_ does, in fact I can hardly get him to shut up when he's nagging me to eat healthier…who cares if ramen is bad for me, I like it!" Tsume looked at him and said "So you can speak to him any time you wish" He regarded her with a bored expression "Well no…" as he pause it seemed everyone in the room was hanging onto his words "…it's kinda pointless to talk to him when he's sleeping, and sometimes he just isn't in a talkative mood y'know?" It was humorous to see so many battle hardened killers sweat drop like that. "Can you give him a message for me boy?" He just nodded in her direction "Can you tell him 'thank you' for me…" The others looked at her like she was crazy "…I've always wanted to thank him for slaughtering over half my clan…not to mention my husband." It was obvious she was being sarcastic and really hated the Bijuu's guts but Naruto decided it would be fun to rile her up so he asked anyway. He seemed to stare off into space for a moment before bursting out in raucous laughter. Tsume didn't like that "What's so funny pup?" "Well he said he's glad he could do his part in reducing the pet population." Tsume stared at him for a moment, with mouth agape, before her face twisted with rage. "You bastard ill kill you!!" Thankfully the Hokage managed to stop her before she gutted Naruto and a group of anbu escorted the raving woman out of the hall.

Danzo addressed the boy "So you claim that the demon not only speaks to you, but has some amount of control over the seal?" Naruto glared at him "That's right; Tou-san thinks that the Yondaime died before he could finish the seal…or at least before he could add the complimentary seal that was supposed to go with it. Honestly he could have broken free at anytime." Everyone in the room paled at that. "About six years ago, right before I entered the academy, I was playing a game called 'Beat the crap out of the demon boy' with the villager. When I lost like I always did the Kyuubi spoke to me for the first time in which he told me the story of how he had attacked the village and his incarceration. At first I was a bit angry at him but after he revealed a few things to me I figured it was better to forgive and forget. After seeing the crap I had to put up with from the villagers on a near daily basis-" Sarutobi looked down in shame at this "-he offered me a means to become a great shinobi so people would respect me or, at the very least, fear me. It took him six long years to make it so my body could handle his chakra without harmful after affects, which I might add threw my chakra system so out of wack I could barely perform the most basic of academy jutsu. I just managed to re-gain control a couple months ago when that traitor Mizuki attempted to make off with the Forbidden Scroll." After he finished the story many of the shinobi looked upon him with pity and, in a few cases, respect while several of the civilian council who had in fact participated in the game he mentioned had the decency to look ashamed.

One of the members of the civilian council who held no sympathy for him asked why he should be allowed to live if there was a chance that he might exact retribution on them. The Hokage was about to round on the man and give him a piece of his mind but Naruto saved him the trouble. "Two reasons…one, I hold all the cards. Although it would kill me to release the Kyuubi, if your going to kill me anyway I might as well leave the village a little parting gift for everything I had to put up right?" They stared at the boy with eyes full of panic, and the Hokage while fearful of encountering the massive fox for a second time thought that a death that way would be a just death indeed. Danzo, who seemed unfazed by the boy's threat, spoke next "You said there were two reasons you wouldn't turn on us…what is the second?" Naruto had a grim look on his face, the first time he had worn an expression of something other than light amusement since the meeting had began. "Because it's not truly your fault, nor is it Tou-san's fault. This village has a common enemy with my tenant…one who would like nothing better than the death of everyone of its people…" One thought was on everyone's mind, Orochimaru. What came out the boy's mouth next, however, was something no one was expecting. "…this man sent the Kyuubi into a forced rage and turned his sights upon this village…this man's name is…_Uchiha Madara._"

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Yay! Super dramatic ending for everybody! Up next is, you guessed it, the beginning of the Chunin Exams! Look forward to it, Ja ne!

Note that Hentai can mean pervert when used in a certain context, but it also means Transformation. Japanese is funny like that.


	7. Soul Mates in Solitude

I don't own Naruto…if I did Sasuke would be Naruto's duck-butt lackey and Sakura would be mute….

Normal speech/Kyuubified Naruto/Bijuu, Boss Summon "Speech/_**Speech/ **_**Speech!**"

'Thought'** 'Kyuubi Thinking/Speaking to Naruto' **

Sorry this update took so long. I was having some browser problems and couldn't upload anything.

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(Konohagakure)

Things hadn't gone over quite as well as Naruto had hoped with the council meeting. Most of the shinobi truly believed that Uchiha Madara was dead and gone, but Naruto knew otherwise. The Hokage had tried his best to make Naruto's claim seem credible by saying that there was no record of Madara's actual death, only his disappearance fifty years prior. Even though it _was_ possible, even if unlikely, that Madara was indeed alive and had instigated the Kyuubi's attack upon Konoha…most of the council simply believed Naruto was lying.

Regardless of whether Naruto was being truthful or not they still could not take any action against him for fear of the Kyuubi's release. No one could tell if the boy was bluffing or not when he said he could just let the monster go free with no more repercussion other than his own death but, no one was willing to take that chance either.

Danzo, however, had suggested that if they give Naruto some modicum of trust that he would not betray them, the boy would show just how useful he could be to the village. So, Danzo suggested that they convince his sensei, Hatake Kakashi, to enter his team in the upcoming Chunin Exams. While many of the council thought that Naruto might not be ready seeing as he had been a genin for such a short time; Danzo once again managed to sway them by saying that not only would it be any excellent means to show off their village's 'secret weapon', Sarutobi was greatly displeased at that, but, it would also be an excellent test for Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto was suspicious that Danzo would try so hard to help him and the Sandaime had agreed with his assumption that the old war hawk was up to no good.

(Konohagakure, With Naruto)

"Hmm, what could it be…?" As Naruto thought back to recent events he couldn't help but get a twisted feeling in his gut, something just didn't sit right with him.

"Are you still worried about the meeting Naruto-sama?" Haku asked his reluctant master worriedly. Naruto had been deep in thought ever since his sensei had announce that he and his team would be participating in the chunin exams and, Haku was a bit frightened to tell the truth. The _Hyouton_ user had never seen this sort of expression on his master although; truthfully he hadn't known him very long.

"No I've gotten over that…" And it was true; he had already accepted the council's decisions. "Haku have you ever had a sort of anxious feeling…like someone or something is about come and change something but you don't know what?"

Haku gave him a peculiar expression before answering "I'm not sure if I understand Naruto-sama. Is it like a feeling of dread?"

The blonde just sighed "Forget it Haku…maybe I'm just a bit stressed out." Haku blushed and looked down as if there was something interesting on the ground. "W-Would you like a massage…Naruto-sama?" Naruto sweat dropped at the girly boy's bashful act. "Uh, as great as that sounds Haku…I think I'll pass." Haku got a defeated look on his face. "Oh…a-alright then" Naruto found that a bit disturbing 'Guh, he seems awful disappointed…that's what I get for goading a sexually confused guy like Haku…he was practically born as a transvestite. I just hope he doesn't decide we should switch roles.' Phantom images of Haku standing over him wearing nothing but a teddy and holding a leash in one hand and riding crop in the other almost gave Naruto another look at the ramen he had for lunch.

While his master was busy gagging, Haku noticed a bit of commotion on the bridge across from them. "Naruto-sama isn't that Konohamaru-kun?" Naruto looked up and saw it was indeed the grandson of the Hokage being held by the scruff of his neck by what looked like a Kabuki actor dressed in a cat suit. "Come on we better help the kid out"

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"Let me go you big Jerk!" The Kabuki smirked at the squirming kid in his grasp "I really hate brats, every time I see one it just makes me wanna beat em within an inch of their life" The other two children protested their friends treatment and the blonde girl beside the Kabuki scoffed at her companion's antics "Come on Kankurou cut it out, you know what will happen if _he_ finds out…" Kankurou regarded her with annoyance "I'm just going to teach these brats a lesson real quick…he'll never even know…" Konohamaru closed his eyes in preparation for the pain that was sure to come…only it never did. The scarf boy looked up to see that his assailant's wrist was held by someone with sun kissed blonde hair…

"Who the hell are you?" The kabuki boy inquired rudely. "Hi there, names Naruto, how bout you just let Konohamaru-kun go, ne?" Kankurou sneered at him "And why the hell should I do that?" Naruto just kept on smiling at him "Well there _is_ the fact that he is the Hokage's grandson…but I suppose if you really need a reason, I could offer some ramen to you and your…good-looking friend there" The boy's companion blushed hotly at her fellow blond's compliment and Haku frowned at her, although he agreed she _was_ attractive. The kabuki boy, however, wasn't going to give up his catch so easily. "Like I care, I hate ramen." Naruto frowned at him "Oh, I see…" Kankurou smirked in victory…which lasted about two seconds before Naruto's fist impacted with his face, forcibly releasing Konohamaru from the boy's grip.

"Naruto-sama…was that really necessary…" Naruto turned to look at something in the trees that Haku couldn't see "Haku if I've learned anything from life it's that any problem that can't be solved with ramen…can definitely be solved with violence." Haku wondered not for the first time what sort of problem _could_ be solved with ramen but just chalked it up as one of his master's many quirks. By this time the boy that Naruto had punched got up from his dirt lunch and looked decidedly pissed. "You fucker! You just signed your own death warrant!" He reached for the large bandaged object on his back "Wait you're going to use Karasu here?!" the blonde girl beside him protested. Naruto however just seemed to be staring into the tree from before absent mindedly.

"Hey you little midget, don't freaking ignore me!" Haku gasped loudly at the kabuki boy's insult…he had no idea what he'd just done. "Uh N-Naruto-sama, m-maybe we should just l-leave…please?" The blond girl looked at Haku oddly. 'She looks terrified…but not of Kankurou…so who?' Her answer came in the form of a wave of Killer Intent that was so strong it caused her knees to buckle and Kankurou almost puke from the looks of it. "Naruto-sama…if you kill him there could be…repercussions" Temari would be shocked if she wasn't so scared out of her mind. This feeling of bloodlust was coming from the blond kid?!

"That should get him out of hiding…" In a swirl of sand appeared a boy with red hair, dark ringed eyes, and a large gourd on his back. "Kankurou…you're a disgrace to our village." "I'm sorry Gaara I-" "Shut up, before I kill you" The red head turned to look at Naruto. "I apologize for my companions' rudeness" Haku spoke up beside Naruto "You are sand shinobi correct? Are you here for the chunin exams?" Gaara nodded stiffly "That is correct" He turned to his fell sand-nin "Kankurou, Temari, we're leaving." As the three sand genin made to leave, Naruto called out to the smaller red haired boy. "What so that's it? You aren't going to say hi to an old friend?" Gaara turned to him with a confused yet, uncaring look. "Do I know you?" Naruto shook his head "No, not personally…but our tenants do." Gaara eyes narrowed at him "I don't know what you are talking about." With that said, he and his teammates left…leaving Naruto and Haku…alone.

(Konohagakure, Ichiraku Ramen)

"Are you all right Naruto-sama?" Naruto looked up from his bowl of broth and regarded Haku with a sad smile. "I'm fine Haku, its just…" Haku was worried about his young master. Naruto had come to his favorite ramen stand after his encounter with Gaara of the Sand saying he needed to think…so far they had been at the stand for nearly an hour and Naruto had only eaten four bowls of ramen…worrisome indeed.

"Please tell me what's bothering you Naruto-sa…Naruto…" The blond boy seemed to perk up a bit at his informal address. "I…always knew that there were others like me…Tou-san said that there have been containers to harness the powers of the Bijuu for a long time…since this village was founded." Haku listened intently, the conversation earlier had been enough for him to figure out the red haired boy, Gaara, was a container like Naruto.

"I just thought that…maybe…not all of them suffered. I thought that maybe, some of us were loved and respected…not just feared." Naruto was miserable, Haku could tell. "Maybe he's just not too friendly at first…those others seemed pretty close to him." Even Haku himself didn't believe what he was saying. Gaara's companions were afraid of him…pure and simple.

"I could see it in his eyes…he was like me…like us." Haku knew what he was talking about. Although the ice user had only been on his own for a relatively short while, compared to Naruto, before he had met Zabuza…he knew the aching, empty feeling of loneliness well. "But he's even worse off I think." Haku looked shocked.

"Whenever it got really bad for me…or if I lost sight of my reason for living; I always had Tou-san, and people like the old man Hokage, the Ichiraku owner and his daughter. It wasn't as much as I would have liked…but I was never really alone." The boy turned his gaze towards stars that were just beginning to appear in the empty night sky. "That boy Gaara, I can tell he was, and still is…alone."

Haku attempted to say something, anything to get the younger boy out of his slump…but the words died in his throat. "And now I'm hardly ever alone anymore since, I've got you now too Haku." Haku barely managed to choke back the tears of joy that were already forming in the corners of his eyes. 'To think that he considers me so precious of a person.' When he was with Zabuza, Haku was little more than a tool…and he was happy to have a purpose in life again…a reason for his existence. But now that he was with Naruto…he truly felt as though he was part of a family again.

Haku's introspection was interrupted by the sound of Naruto slamming his hands against the counter. "Why? Why does he…does anyone, have to suffer like this? It isn't fair!!" 'Naruto is right; life is so unfair sometimes…' Haku thought. "If only someone cared enough to at least try…maybe thing's like this wouldn't happen…" Naruto whipped his head around so fast Haku swore he felt a small breeze for a moment. "That's it! If we care enough to feel sorry for ourselves and for him than we can use that to find a way to help!" Naruto got a determined look on his face that Haku couldn't help but admire. "And the first thing we'll do is make sure he doesn't have to be alone anymore! Come tomorrow, it's going to be my personal goal of these exams to become his friend! Thanks Haku, you're a genius." With his proclamation he turned around and pulled Haku into a brief hug, before speeding of in the direction of his apartment to prepare for his next encounter with the red haired Gaara.

If Naruto had stopped and turned around to look at Haku one last time, he would have seen the womanly boy had frozen up, his arms still in a mock embrace, with a look of pure bliss on his features.

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Well that's it for this chapter! Don't worry though; the next one won't have so much filling. I'll most likely be going thru the First through the Preliminaries to the second exam in the upcoming chapter, and give the Training with Jiraiya and Finals the one after. But I might just wrap the finals and the invasion into one whole chapter…well see. Make sure to review so I know how you feel about the direction the story is taking. Ja ne!


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